Naruto: A Different Story
by Bunny-Wan Kenobi
Summary: -DISCONTINUED- At 3 he ran away from Konoha and ran into her. Now he's 12 and they're being forced to return to the village they hate. A rewriting of the Naruto series!
1. The Runaway

**Title: **Naruto - A Different Story  
**Rating:** M (for later)  
**Pairing:** Naruto/?  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto and all of its characters belongs to the great and powerful, Masashi Kishimoto.  
**Summery:** At 3 he ran away from Konoha and ran into her. Now he's 12 and they're being forced to return to the village they hate.  
**Author's Note:** Just one note, once Naruto becomes 12 in this story I will be dedicating about one chapter for every arc I can think of. This way the story wont be like a hundred chapters long.

* * *

**Chapter One: The Runaway**

The blonde haired blue eyed three year old cringed once more as the large sweaty hand came across his face in a hard and large smack. Tears had started flowing freely out of his eyes nearly twenty minutes ago, yet the older man didn't seem to notice. Once more the blonde child watched as the much older and much larger man pulled his hand back. The blue yes of the child closed just as the large hand came across his cheek once more, forcing his head to the side, which caused his neck to start aching along with his very red cheek. The man moved back from the small boy and brought up a mostly empty bottle of Sake to his lips before gulping the remaining drops. The man then moved his fist holding the bottle towards the table, and the blonde child's eyes widened as the sound of glass breaking was heard.

The child quickly got to his tiny feet, his legs trembling as he fought against the wave of dizziness and nausea that threatened to send him back down to the hard cold ground. The man noticed this and went to swing with his other hand, but the Sake had impaired his dept perception and he missed horribly. The child took the opportunity and ran for the nearest exit out of the small apartment. His bare feet slapping on the hard wood floor as he ran.

The man screamed violently after the child before throwing the broken bottle off to the side as he took chase after the child. A woman shrieked after the man, making him stop briefing and giving the child the chance to make it even farther away from the man.

The child took the stairs out of the apartment building as fast as he could, falling only when he reached the bottom. Though he scrapped his knee horribly, and it had started to bleed horrible, he continued to run away from the building and into the freezing night. A few people wondering around, or hurrying home from work spotted the boy. But none had offered to help. Some had even pushed the boy down onto the ground. His clothing, though way to big for his tiny body, were ripped and dirty, and now wet.

The child continued to run, even when it started to pour. The freezing rain drenching his clothing and making it stick to his body. But the child didn't care; all he carried about at that moment was getting as far away from all of the people.

So he continued to run, he wasn't sure on the time, just that it had stopped raining. The child tripped over a pothole in the path and fell forward into the hard dirt, breaking his tiny nose, wrist, and ankle. He let out a loud whimper before curling up in a ball near the pot whole and wrapping his arms around his knees as he pulled them to his chest. At that moment, he didn't care if he lived. He just wanted all of the pain to go away.


	2. The Finding

**Title:** Naruto - A Different Story  
**Rating:** M  
**Pairing:** Naruto/?  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto and all of its characters belongs to the great and powerful, Masashi Kishimoto.  
**Summery:** At 3 he ran away from Konoha and ran into her. Now he's 12 and they're being forced to return to the village they hate.  
**Author's Note:** Just one note, once Naruto becomes 12 in this story I will be dedicating about one chapter for every arc I can think of. This way the story wont be like a hundred chapters long.

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Finding**

Tsunade was tired; they had been walking all day to try to get to their next destination before nightfall. They never made it to their destination however, because their pet Tonton had decided she wanted to explore the forest on the side of the path. So Tsunade and her attendant, Shizune, had spent most of the late afternoon and night searching for the pink pig.

Now it was nearing noon, the sun was shinning brightly in the sky above them, and Tonton was tied to a very heavy-duty rope that Tsunade herself was holding onto. Shizune was walking a head of the two, not wanting to get into her sensei's way. The mousy woman knew when Tsunade was in a bad mood and what to do when she got like that.

As she kept her eyes on the trail ahead of them, Shizune noticed a pile of old cloth laying in a slightly large whole in the path. She quickly ran up to it to check on it and let out a loud gasp. The pile of ripped, soiled, and wet cloth, was in fact a small blonde haired child. She held out her hands and gently lifted the boy into her arms. He was small, and Shizune guessed that he was only a year or two old, definitely not old enough to be alone on a path in the middle of nowhere.

"Shizune, what the hell are you doing? We're already behind schedule and if we don't hurry all the suckers will have left." Tsunade's voice shouted from behind her. Shizune jumped slightly and winced as the small bundle in her arms let out a loud whine. Shizune was about to coo down at the boy to tell him it was okay, when Tsunade appeared in front of her. Her sensei had quickly grabbed the boy out of her arms and Shizune watched as the bright gold eyes widened in shock.

"I found him curled up in that pothole." Shizune motioned down to the pothole and watched as Tsunade bent down to examine the hole, and cursed loudly when she noticed the dried blood. Shizune looked down and noticed it as well and then looked up at her sensei that had pulled out a blanket from one of her bags and quickly wrapped the boy in it. Shizune picked up the rest of their bags quickly before following after her sensei that had started to run towards their destination.

Three hours later saw the two women in a small hotel room; the small boy was nestled in the heaviest blanket in the room and held securely in Tsunade's arm. Shizune was going through their bags and pulling out bandages and creams to help heal the small boys numerous wounds.

"He's very lucky to be alive, any other child would have died." Tsunade's voice was soft and held a pinch of anger, which Shizune knew was directed at the people who had done all the damage to the small boy. Tsunade had run a dynastic on the boy the moment they had gotten in the hotel room and had cursed loudly. The small boy was going through the symptoms of severe Hypothermia. His small frame had been racked with shivers when they had entered the room, but had stopped a few moments before they entered the room, an action that caused Tsunade to curse so loud the people occupying the rooms next to theirs had come to investigate. The boy had already been in a semi fetal position when he had been found, but he had curled into a more defined position when they had reached the room. His skin had gone from a pasty white, to a deathly pale, and his heart rate has decreased extremely. Even under a very blanket, the small body's temperature had dropped to 86 degrees, making both women scramble to assemble the necessary items to save the boy's life.

Shizune had quickly dug through their belongs and had pulled out a heavy wool blanket as Tsunade had stripped the small boy of his wet clothing. Tsunade dried the boy off before slipping onto the boy one of Shizune's nightshirts. Once he was wrapped up, Shizune had run down to the store to gather the necessary ingredients for a warm sugar water mixture. Tsunade had then taken the time to placing a few water bottles into a very hot bath to warm up.

When Shizune returned she mixed up the sugar and water mixture into one of the heated water bottles before wiring it up to an injection needle. She handed the contraption over to Tsunade who then injected it into the small boy's arm. When that was finished Tsunade laid the boy down flat onto one of the bed before turning towards Shizune.

"I'm going to send a message to Konoha." Shizune looked up with a shocked expression on her face. Tsunade sighed and rubbed at her neck. "Actually I'm going to tell that old coot of a Hokage what condition I found this kid in." Tsunade then stormed out of the room, leaving a stunned Shizune and an unconscious blonde hair boy.


	3. The Decision

**Title:** Naruto - A Different Story  
**Rating:** M  
**Pairing:** Naruto/?  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto and all of its characters belongs to the great and powerful, Masashi Kishimoto.Summery: At 3 he ran away from Konoha and ran into her. Now he's 12 and they're being forced to return to the village they hate.  
**Author's Note:** Just one note, once Naruto becomes 12 in this story I will be dedicating about one chapter for every arc I can think of. This way the story wont be like a hundred chapters long.

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Decision**

Tsunade shook her head at the messenger ninjas that stood before her; none of them were free to send an urgent message to the Hokage. As she turned away she caught just a few words of a conversation a few messengers were having.

"Can you believe it? After three years, the Kyuubi brat has finally done us all a favor."

"What he do go and slit his own throat?"

"Nah, nothing like that. According to his 'care-givers' he took off out of their apartment after cutting up his body with an old Sake bottle. He never came home, so the consensus is he died of Hypothermia."

"Hypothermia? That's a lame way for that monster to go. I was hoping someone shot him or burned him at the stake."

"The Hokage wouldn't have allowed that. He's way to senile."

"Yeah no kidding."

"Did you happen to hear about the Uchiha's too?"

"No, what happened?"

"Well it seems that Mikoto Uchiha through a fit about that monsters disappearance. She was so upset over it, that she spent most of last night out with the police force searching for him. She's been arrested herself for beating the brats 'care-givers' nearly to death."

"Who knew the Uchiha's cared so much for a monster?"

Tsunade had heard enough of the talk and marched over to the two men, slamming her fist into the wall in between the two of them, turning it to rubble. The two men screamed loudly before Tsunade silenced them by covering their faces with her hands. She pulled them both towards her, smirking as her hands tightened around their faces and they whimpered.

"You listen to be you worthless excuses for life forms. He IS NOT a monster. He is a three year old little boy, who has been beaten and nearly killed by the people he trusted the most in the world." She clenched her hands again around the two messenger's faces before throwing them both into a near by table. "If anyone here is a monster, it's people like you two." She glared at the other messengers in the room before marching out. As made sure to also slam the door hard, causing most of the surrounding wall to crumble.

The blonde haired sennin marched towards the exit of town, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. She reappeared a few miles out of town and started running at full speed towards Konoha.

* * *

Shizune wrapped up the blonde boy once more after forcing the poor boy to go to the bathroom, and re-injecting the sugar water into his system. She maneuvered a hot bottle behind his neck before brushing a few strands of blonde hair out of his face. She then gently traced the three scar marks on either side of his face with her pinkie, before moving to lay sit down on the ground by the bed. She rested her head on the boy and watched the small boy's chest rise and fall under the heavy wool blanket.

* * *

Tsunade frowned deeply at the Chuunin's blocking the Hokage's office door. They had refused her entry to see the old man. They had refused one of the three sennin. Tsunade clenched her fist tightly before slamming it into the door behind the two Chuunin's. The door exploded inwards, surprising all of the occupants of the room. Tsunade quickly pushed the two Chuunins aside and walked into the room, glaring deadly at all of the people in the room.

"Well what a warm welcome I get on my homecoming. First I get hassled at the gate, then I get told that I'm not who I say I am from two know it all Jounin downstairs, then you're two door stops claim that I'm not important enough to have an audience with the great Hokage." Tsunade watched as the two Chuunin from the door bowed to the Hokage and quickly fixed the door. Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the members of the room. She recognized all of them, and her hate for the village had just grown. Hiashi Hyuuga was standing proudly off to the left side of the room, while Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane stood behind the third Hokage; Kakashi Hatake was sitting in the single chair in the room, while Mikoto, Itachi, and Fugaku Uchiha stood off to the right of the room. Before she could make a comment on the people however the third spoke up.

"Tsunade-chan, forgive my ninja for their poor manners. Many are way to young to have even known what you have done, let alone what you would look like." The old man took a puff from his pipe before sighing out the smoke. He fixed his eyes on Tsunade a small smile on his face. "If I had been aware of your coming, I would have readied a welcoming commit fit for a sennin. However, since you have seen fit to surprise us all…" The third trailed off and Tsunade smirked at the old man. Her sensei had a point, but she was still pissed.

"Tsunade-sama, what does bring you here to our humble home?" Hiashi Hyuuga's voice cut into Tsunade's mind and she snapped her head over to glare at the white-eyed man. She couldn't stand the Hyuuga's when she was a little girl, and her hate had only grown over the years.

"I've come on behave of my new charge." Tsunade watched as nearly every eye in the room widened towards her. She growled and shook his head before stomping her foot. "What the fuck did you think you were doing? Placing that poor child in a home with worthless life forms who would never understand or except him? How many times have you had to change his home address because he had been rejected, had ran away, had been nearly killed?" Tsunade's face was red from anger and she barely caught Mikoto Uchiha nodding along with her.

"Tsunade-sama please calm down. I assure you we had no idea of the treatment that he was being put through. He we had, he would have been placed with a noble family." Hiashi's voice was so proud Tsunade felt herself wanting to strangle the man where he stood. Before she could move however the man was being thrown into the opposite wall by a mass of black. Tsunade blinked as she watched the female Uchiha ram a kunai into the wall next to the Hyuuga head's head.

"You would do better to watch your tongue Hyuuga, or you might just loose it." Mikoto's eyes had bleed into red so quickly it had even surprised her stoic son, Itachi, and the rarely emotional, Kakashi. The third cleared his throat loudly and Tsunade felt herself smirking as Mikoto slammed Hiashi into the wall before retreating back to her husband's side. The Hyuuga picked himself up and dusted himself off, but kept his mouth shut.

"You're words, though sincere, are full of utter bullshit and everyone in this room knows it. You despised the fourth and everything he stood for. So of course you would despise the only thing he left behind. You know damn well that no clan in all of Konoha would accept the boy. Even the Uchiha's would have a problem with it." Tsunade hissed out towards the Hyuuga before turning her gaze to the Hokage once more. His old teammates were whispering into his ears and Tsunade was seething as she watched.

As his old teammates resumed their positions behind the Hokage, the old man cleared his throat and closed his eyes. Kakashi Hatake quickly turned his head back to the old Hokage, having turned it to watch Tsunade out of his one eye.

"We have reached the decision that Naruto Uzumaki, the container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune will be returned to the village at once. He will be placed under ANBU guard until his graduation from the Ninja Academy. On that day he will be placed under the care of Kakashi Hatake, until his eighteenth birthday." This announcement got a few very loud responses from the occupants of the room. Tsunade narrowed her eyes and growled loudly, Mikoto Uchiha started shouting at the Hokage demanding Naruto be placed in her care as her husband joined in, Kakashi had slammed his fists down on the desk top and demanded to be given the post as ANBU guard, Itachi's Sharingan had began to spin widely, and Hiashi Hyuuga had merely smirked.

"No." Was all Tsunade said before she turned her back to the occupants of the room. She started towards the door and had her hand on the handle when the third called out to her.

"What do you mean by that Tsunade-chan?" The thirds voice held the hint of mirth that she remembered hearing in her days as a Genin. It warmed her slightly inside to hear it, she knew that no matter what happened now, she had her sensei's support.

"I am not bringing him back to his village. I will raise him as my own child until the day HE wishes to return here. But from the way I found him, that day will never come!" Tsunade opened the doors to the Hokage office and exited before a single word could be uttered to her. She glared at the two Chuunin standing there before leaving the building.

* * *

Inside the office the third Hokage had leaned back in his chair and was happily puffing on his pipe. His teammates were arguing with each other about whither they should go after the sennin or not, as Mikoto Uchiha was being calmed down by her husband. Kakashi had sat back down heavily in the chair and was cradling his head in his hands; Itachi was watching the whole ordeal from the back of the room, and Hiashi quietly left following Tsunade's example.

Half an hour past before the room was almost empty. Only Kakashi and the third remained, the younger still holding his head in his hands. The third cleared his throat a bit making Kakashi look up out of his dark brown eye.

"Do not be so hard on yourself Kakashi-kun. You are still very young, and could not handle the responsibility of a child and a career as a ninja. Tsunade-chan knows what she is doing she is very capable of raising young Naruto to be the best he can be." Kakashi nodded sadly at the third before standing. He wiped at his tearing eye before heading towards the door. As he reached it, he turned back to face the Hokage.

"When the day arrives, I still want to be in charge of his training. Sensei wouldn't have wanted it any other way." With those last words Kakashi left through the door, closing it gently behind him. The third leaned back once more and smiled up at the ceiling.

"Your legacy will live on Yondaime, and he will poses the greatest will of fire that this world has ever seen. Naruto Uzumaki will become the hero that you wanted him to be."


	4. The Family

**Title: **Naruto - A Different Story  
**Rating: **M  
**Pairing:** Naruto/?  
**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all of its characters belongs to the great and powerful, Masashi Kishimoto.  
**Summery: **At 3 he ran away from Konoha and ran into her. Now he's 12 and they're being forced to return to the village they hate.  
**Author's Note:** Just one note, once Naruto becomes 12 in this story I will be dedicating about one chapter for every arc I can think of. This way the story wont be like a hundred chapters long.

* * *

**Chapter Four: The Family**

Shizune sighed heavily as her stomach let off a rather loud rumble. She hadn't eaten anything in nearly two days, and on top of that, Tsunade hadn't returned. The mousy looking woman was torn between going to look for her sensei and staying with the small child. In the end Shizune decided to bare with the stomach pains and the worry over her sensei, and stay with the small child. Tsunade could take care of her self, for the most part; the young child however could not.

* * *

Tsunade shoved a few more packages of instant soup into a basket before moving over towards the juice section of the store. She had decided to stop on her way back to the hotel, because she knew that when the small child woke up, he'd be very hungry. As she collected some of every type of juice, not real sure what kind he'd like, and throwing in some quick easy meals for Shizune and herself, she headed to the counter.

Once she had paid Tsunade headed towards the child-clothing store near by. As she searched around the shop, she noticed someone duck out of her peripheral vision. Quickly picking up six different outfits she had collected (a blue long sleeved shirt with light blue comfy jeans and a pair of blue sneakers, a bright orange t-shirt with black shorts and a pair of orange sneakers, a black button up dress shirt with matching black baggy pants and black shoes, a burgundy kung fu style outfit with an embroidered symbol for kitsune in gold with and matching burgundy ninja sandals, a dark red kimono with a large white fox embroidered into it with a matching white obi, and finally a no sleeved mandarin suit in plain black) and paying for them, she exited the store only to come face to face with Kakashi Hatake.

"You best have a good reason for following me boy." Tsunade's voice was full of venom and it made the younger man take a few steps back. She watched his shift from side to side briefly before he blinked up at her. Tsunade shook his head and handed him the purchases she had. "Carry those and follow me, I have one more stop to make." Kakashi took the bag quietly and followed after the Sannin. The two of them entered into a giant toy store across the street from the hotel, Tsunade immediately heading towards the giant tower of stuffed toys. Kakashi looked around the shop and shivered slightly, all the toys were suffocating him.

Tsunade picked out a few small teddy bears (a white one who played a soft lullaby, a black one who was made completely of feathers, and a brown one that doubled as a small blanket), a rather large white fox with golden eyes that could be used as a beanbag, and a bright red fox with nine tails that was just the right size for the young three year old to cuddle. She paid for the toys and forced Kakashi to carry the smaller ones as she carried the beanbag. Tsunade quickly sped up the stairs of the hotel, Kakashi barely capable of keeping up with all the stuff he was carrying.

Tsunade opened the door to Shizune's and her room and dropped the giant fox beanbag down in the corner. Shizune jumped up to help Kakashi when he came through the door with the rest of the bag, Tsunade taking the bags with the toys and started to place them around the beanbag. She frowned slightly at the lack of toys, and made plans in her head to buy more when the small boy woke up. Kakashi set the bags with the clothing in it to the side, as Shizune started to ready some of the food that Tsunade had bought.

"Is that him?" Kakashi asked in a very soft frightened tone. Tsunade nodded her head and watched through narrowed eyes as Kakashi sat down near the bundle that held the blonde haired boy. Kakashi reached out a hand and softly moved a piece of hair out of the small face, while his other hand lowered his mask off of his face. Tsunade walked over and bent over Naruto and pressed a finger to his neck and smiled brightly. His pulse had returned to normal, and he wasn't so cold to the touch any longer.

"He should wake up soon, if you want to stay." Tsunade said softly to Kakashi who quickly nodded his head. Tsunade smiled at the boy and then turned to put the new clothing away in the dresser that was in the hotel room. Shizune appeared with a few sandwiches for the two occupants of the room, before retreating once more. Kakashi took one of the sandwiches and started to nibble on it while continuing to watch the small child.

"He's so small, it's not normal for a child his age to be this small is it?" Kakashi asked the medic ninja as she sat down on Naruto's other side. Tsunade herself was munching on one of the sandwiches and was keeping her eyes trained onto the sleeping blonde.

"No, it's not normal Kakashi-kun. Naruto hasn't had near the amount of nutrients that a child should be getting. I doubt they feed him any more than the crumbs off their plates." She growled out the last part before standing up and grabbing another sandwich. She was just about to shove it into her mouth when a small whimper sounded from the bundle that was Naruto. Kakashi, though he was closer to the boy, wasn't the first to reach him. Tsunade had dropped the sandwich in her hand and had quickly scooped up the small boy, holding him gently in her arms. "Shhh, it's alright Naru-kun. You're safe now." The small boy's whimpered stopped instantly at her voice and She set him back down on the bed, before joining him.

Kakashi and her proceeded to unwrap the small boy from the heavy wool blanket and smiled gently down at him as Naruto blinked open his bright blue eyes. A rather loud coo escaped from Tsunade's mouth as Kakashi ran his fingers through Naruto's soft blonde hair.

For the small boy himself, he didn't know what to think. He had remembered going to sleep in the cold hard rain in the middle of the path, but now he was lying on the softest bed he had ever felt surrounded by warmth and kind people. He blinked a few more times before moving a hand up to reach for the woman to his side, he smiled slightly when the woman took his hand in her own large one before lifting him into her arms. He blinked his eyes a few more times as he looked into her golden ones.

"What?" His voice was a bit cracked and soft, but Naruto was sure the older lady understood what he was meaning to say. The woman cuddled him for a moment before resting him against a stack of pillows that the man had set up. He turned his head to look at the other person in the room and smiled slightly back at him when the man smiled.

"My name's Tsunade, and this is Kakashi. We found you late yesterday, and rushed you here so we could help you." Naruto looked over to Tsunade as she spoke and frowned, his eyes closing as he tried to remember that. The memories that surfaced however made tears burst into his eyes and made him curl in on himself. Even though his body was no longer in pain, his mind still was.

Tsunade watched this with alarm but wasn't as fast as Kakashi was. Kakashi picked Naruto up into his arms and started to sing softly to him. Tsunade wasn't sure what he was singing but was happy to see that Naruto's eyes had reopened and he was listening intently to Kakashi's song. Tsunade smiled at Shizune who had entered the room with four bowls of soup and four glasses of orange juice. Kakashi seemed to notice her too because he ended the song and placed Naruto back down on the blanket.

"I see our little prince finally woke up." Shizune laughed merrily as she set the tray of food at the end of the bed. Naruto put his finger in his mouth and started at the food, his stomach making a rather loud noise that made all of the occupants of the room laugh. "Well, you don't have to be so shy Naru-kun. I'm Shizune-oneesan." Shizune smiled brightly once more and laughed as Naruto crawled over towards the tray, tilting his head down at the soup. Kakashi quickly picked the boy up and placed him in his lap before grabbing one of the bowls of soup. Tsunade set a pillow in Naruto's small lap, and Kakashi placed the bowl onto it. Forcing a bit of chakra into the bottom of the bowl to keep it stuck to the pillow. Naruto was then given a small spoon, which he stared at.

"Go on Naru-kun, Kakashi-oniisan wont let you burn yourself." Kakashi said quickly down to the blonde and laughed softly at the squeal of delight Naruto made as he dug into the soup. Tsunade picked up her bowl and started to eat as well, keeping one eye on Naruto as he happily slurped up the soup broth.

When the food had been eaten and Naruto had slurped down at least four glasses of juice, Shizune had set to cleaning the dishes as Tsunade readied a bath for the now very energetic three year old. Kakashi had the important job of keeping said three year old entertained until Tsunade could get the bath ready. Naruto however was having none of it. He had immediately latched onto Tsunade's leg and demanded to be picked up. After much fighting, Kakashi had gotten Naruto to notice the large beanbag fox. The three year old had then latched onto it and had demanded that Kakashi tell him a story.

"Well, I don't know many stories." Kakashi scratched at his chin as he looked up at the ceiling. Naruto whined before tilting his head and staring at Kakashi's headband.

"Kakashi-oniisan, what's that thing?" Naruto pointed to Kakashi's headband and Kakashi smiled as he adjusted it. He moved closer to Naruto and let the boy take it off of his head; Kakashi making sure that his Sharingan eye was closed. The small blonde boy turned the headband around in his hands but his eyes were focused on Kakashi's eye. "Ouchie?" Naruto said softly as he traced one of his fingers down Kakashi's scar. Kakashi sighed and then pulled Naruto into his lap as he situated himself in the beanbag.

"Well that's a story I guess I can tell you." Kakashi watched as Naruto tied the headband to his stuffed nine tailed fox and then started to cuddle it. "It was about four years ago, I was thirteen and had just become a Jounin. My team and I had been assigned to burn down a bridge to prevent the enemy from proceeding into the Fire Country." Kakashi sighed deeply before continuing. "Rin, our female medic ninja, had been kidnapped and Obito, my best friend had gone back to get her. I quickly followed after them, but because I hesitated in doing so, one of the enemies got a cheep shot and got me across the eye." Kakashi felt Naruto's finger trace the scar on his eye once before he felt soft small lips on the scar. He smiled and wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist. "My friend Obito had tried to help me when I had fell into a trap by pushing me out of the way." Naruto blinked watery blue eyes at Kakashi, nuzzling his face into Kakashi's neck.

"He saved you?" Naruto's voice held the traces of the tears that were falling down out of his eyes. Kakashi nodded and hugged Naruto tightly. "Do you miss him?" Kakashi blinked his one eye as Naruto pulled back to stare into the brown eye. Kakashi smiled brightly and nodded his head making Naruto smile as well.

"I miss him terribly, but he never truly left me. As he lay dieing, he made Rin trade his eye for mine." Kakashi slowly opened the eye with the Sharingan and smiled when Naruto gasped. "Obito is now forever a part of me, and because of him, I have vowed to be the best ninja in the world. For both of us." Naruto nodded happily and jumped up when Tsunade reappeared in the room.

"I like Kakashi-oniisan." Naruto whispered to the older lady as she picked him up. Naruto blushed as she giggled towards him and then buried his face in Tsunade's neck.

"Let's go Naru-kun it's time for you bath." Naruto nodded happily and bounced in Tsunade's arms as she brought him into the bathroom. Kakashi watched from his position on the beanbag a gentle smile on his face.

* * *

Four hours later saw the four occupants of the room curled up together around the fluffy, now ninja, and nine tailed fox stuffed toy. Kakashi had explained to Naruto about ninjas and there job in the world. Though the little boy seemed more interested in the stuffed fox, than Kakashi's explanations. Shizune was fiddling with a small ball she had pulled out of her bag, while Tsunade watched Naruto's movements around on the bed.

Just as Kakashi was going to start telling Naruto the story of his stuffed fox, a loud pop sent the small boy flying into Tsunade's arms. Kakashi pulled out one of his kunai as Shizune readied a few of her Senbon. As the puff of smoke cleared, a man wearing all black with a white mask decorated in the form of a weasel. Kakashi and Shizune relaxed but Naruto continued to shake in Tsunade's arms.

"Hatake-san, the Hokage requests you immediately." Kakashi nodded towards the ANBU black-ops before standing up from the bed. Naruto noticed this and leapt from Tsunade's arms to latch onto Kakashi.

"Don't go Oniisan!" Naruto had tears in his eyes and Kakashi frowned as he pulled his headband off the nine tailed fox. He hugged Naruto tightly before setting him onto the bed.

"Don't worry Naru-kun, you've got your Okasan, and your Oneesan. Plus…" Kakashi bent down and kissed Naruto's forehead and whispered to him, "even if I leave now, we're still a family and no one can stop that." Naruto smiled up at Kakashi before diving back into Tsunade's arms. Kakashi pulled up his mask and waved to Shizune and Tsunade before disappearing in a puff of smoke with the ANBU.

Tsunade cuddled Naruto to her chest for a few moments before he left out a loud yawn. Shizune snickered before going to fetch another one of her shirts for Naruto to sleep in. When she returned, Tsunade had Naruto out of his long sleeved blue shirt and black shorts, and the small boy was rubbing at his eyes sleepily. Tsunade quickly pulled the shirt over Naruto head and picked up the brown bear to cover Naruto up with, while she placed the singing white bear next to him. Naruto yawned and closed his eyes.

"Night Okasan and Oneesan." Naruto said sleepily. Before he fell asleep however he had one last thought, he had ran away from a nightmare and had entered into a wonderful paradise. He had finally found his family.


	5. The Boy Who Could Control Ice

**Title:** Naruto - A Different Story  
**Rating: **M  
**Pairing:** Naruto/?  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto and all of its characters belongs to the great and powerful, Masashi Kishimoto.  
**Summery:** At 3 he ran away from Konoha and ran into her. Now he's 12 and they're being forced to return to the village they hate.  
**Author's Note:** Just one note, once Naruto becomes 12 in this story I will be dedicating about one chapter for every arc I can think of. This way the story wont be like a hundred chapters long.

* * *

**Chapter Five: The Boy Who Could Control Ice**  
_Two Years Later_

Zabuza Momochi scratched at the back of his head as he walked down the mostly abandoned streets of the former gambling city. One of Kirigakure's top Jounin, he shoved his hands into his pockets before kicking a stone out of the way. The village he had been sent to was one of the ones in the northern region of Mizu no Kuni. It snowed almost everyday, and the freezing weather made even Zabuza shiver.

He was just about to call it a day, maybe even return to Kirigakure in the morning. The city, what left of it anyways, was in complete ruins. Only a few people even remained, and they looked sickly and half dead. Zabuza kicked a stray dog out of his way and heard a small cry off to the side.

He peaked his head behind a rather large rotting dumpster and stared down at the small barely clothing, dirty, eight year old boy. Zabuza frowned under his face wrap before noticing the bulldog growling up at him. Zabuza kicked the dog and sent the thing flying down the road before looking back at the little boy. He turned around slightly and started to walk away, the sound of small feet on the cold payment meeting his ears.

When he reached the edge of town and to the small inn that was surprisingly still running, he stepped inside and then marched off to his room, the small boy still following closely behind him. Zabuza opened his door and waited until the small boy poked his head around the corner of the hall.

"Well if you're coming in you better hurry, I'm not going to wait all night." The small boy let out a quiet meep before running into the room, Zabuza following in after him and shutting the door. The Kirigakure Jounin quickly set up the in room tea pot and started to make some tea for the two of them. He knew he didn't have much for food, but also knew that the boy had probably not eaten in a long while and any amount of food would probably fill him right up. So Zabuza threw the boy a bag of crackers that had come in a ready-made soup kit he had bought. The soup had been yesterday's supper but Zabuza had left the crackers, not being a big fan of crackers.

"Thank you mister." The small boy said, his voice slightly scratchy due to his time out in the cold. Zabuza poured the boy and himself cups of tea before handing over the cup and sitting down on the bed with the small boy. Zabuza took the few moments of silence to study the child. Noticing the black and blue marks around the boy's throat, he figured he was either a runaway or had been homeless for a while and had just pissed someone off. But looking at the boy's clothing and the way his hair fell into his face, Zabuza figured his first thought was right, this boy was a runaway.

"So what were you doing outside anyways? Shouldn't a kid like you be in school, or even at home?" Zabuza watched as the small boy's shoulders tensed. The older man leaned back on the bed and watched the boy fidget around. "Something happen?" Zabuza felt himself becoming very interested in why such a young child would have wanted to runaway and than act so ashamed of it.

"I did something bad." The small boy looked up at the older man with large teary dark eyes. Zabuza looked away for a moment before looking back. "Please mister, don't sent be back."

"You're parents will be worried if you don't go home. Even if you did something horrible." Zabuza watched as the boy pulled his legs up to his chest and started to rock back and forward. It seemed that mentioning the boy's parents was a bad idea.

"They can't worry, their dead." The small boy's voice didn't hold nearly as much emotion as a small child's voice was suppose to show when speaking of their parents. Especially if their parents weren't there any longer.

"Why don't you explain what happened? Then I can decide what to do with you." Zabuza watches as the young boy got into a comfortable position on the bed, the boy then turned his eyes up towards the other man, took a deep breath and started to speak.

"It was a few weeks ago, I was showing Momma that I could control the ice water around me. She got all upset and started screaming that I was a demon child. Father must have heard her screaming because he confronted her about it later." The small boy shivered so Zabuza dropped one of the spare blankets over his shoulders. The boy smiled up at him before continuing. "Father claimed my mother was an evil demon and must be killed, and because I was her son, I deserved the same fate. So as I can in from playing that night, I walked in to my father murdering my mother. He turned his knife on me, but I was able to get away from him." The small boy shivered again, closing his eyes, but continuing in a harder tone. "I tried to run away, but my father was faster than me. I ended up tripping over my own feet and bashing my head on the ground. I noticed a puddle near me, and didn't really know what to do. But I did know that my father died, and I did it." The small boy looked up into Zabuza's face, the boy's eyes a cold deep brown. "I killed my own father."

* * *

Tsunade shook her head as she watched the five-year-old Naruto throw one of Shizune's Senbon needles into a straw body. The boy had taken an interest in the needles when he watched Shizune fend off a few rouge ninjas last year. Since then the two women had been trying to get Naruto to be able to throw the needles, and the proper places to aim. It was rather hard when the small five year old had the attention span of about two minutes.

Naruto was enjoying himself at the current time. Spending time with his mother and his older sister, learning some cool new things, and even getting to hang out in the fresh fallen snow. The small five year old took aim at the straw dummy once more before throwing the needle in his fingers towards the neck. He yipped loudly when the needle hit it's target, he turned around to see his mother had her eyes glued towards another direction.

"Oi, Okasan! Didn't you see? I did it!" Naruto frowned towards the woman when she didn't even turn back to look at him. It wasn't like his mom to ignore him like that, even when the mean old smelly ninja attacked them last year. She had held him tightly and fought them off with just one arm, so what was so great to distract her from Naruto's big triumph?

The small boy marched over to his mom; setting down the few needles he still had on the pile Shizune had as he pasted by them. He clung to his mom's leg and looked around her to notice a tall man with his lower face wrapped up in white bandages and a dark blue Kirigakure headband tied in a slant on his forehead. Naruto frowned and tugged at his mom's pants. The lady finally snapped out of it and reached down to pick up the small five year old with one arm. Naruto nuzzled his face into his mom's neck before focusing his bright blue eyes onto the man again.

"What do you want Momochi? Your Kage has given me and my traveling companions extensive permission to roam anywhere and do whatever we please, as long as we leave his ninja alone." Tsunade's voice was full of venom and Naruto had never heard his mom speak like that before. It scared him a bit and he buried his face into his mom's neck. Whoever this Momochi guy was, he was making his mom mad.

"Tsunade-sama forgive me if I've startled you, but it seems that you and your son have taken up my charges favorite training spot." Zabuza stepped to the side to reveal an eight-year-old boy in a long green robe with white trimming tied at the waist with a burgundy obi and long baggy brown pants. Naruto blinked bright eyes towards the longhaired boy before wiggling out of his mom's arms. He jumped forward and smiled a bright smile towards the boy.

"The training area is big enough for the both of us. Plus it'd be really cool to see what a real Kiri ninja can do." Naruto looked up at Zabuza and then gasped when he was lifted off the ground and back into his mom's arms. Tsunade narrowed her eyes down at him before kissing him on the head.

"I do not mind sharing the area Zabuza-san, and I must agree with the blonde. You have never shown me any of your jutsus." Zabuza looked down at the boy before snorting and shaking his head. Naruto tried to get out of his mother's arms once more but stopped when she hissed out a curse. Naruto blinked and looked over to where she was looking to see four Kiri Hunter Ninjas surrounding Zabuza and the young boy.

"Momma who are they?" Tsunade took a step back and bent down to pick up four of the Senbon from the pile making them disappear into the four Hunter Ninja's necks. Naruto gasped and stared wide-eyed up at his mom. Zabuza seemed surprised as well but didn't speak. He simply picked up the eight year old and leapt into the nearest tree. Tsunade followed after him quickly shouting to Shizune to hurry up before hugging Naruto tighter to her body.

"Naruto you need to hold onto momma for a while alright? It might get a big rough." Naruto nodded and wrapped his arms around his mother's neck, just tight enough to keep him there in case Tsunade had to fight with both of her arms, but not tight enough to restrict her breathing. Tsunade had taught him how to hold onto her shortly after his third birthday, and Naruto was thankful for the lesson. "Shizune, you need to head to the hotel and get our things. I don't think we'll be staying in Mizu any longer." Shizune nodded and Naruto watched her drop to the ground out of the snow-covered trees. He then turned his eyes to watch Zabuza and the boy.

Zabuza had stopped up a head of them and had set the boy down in a clearing; said boy had started to make a few hand seals while closing his eyes. Naruto watched in fascination as the snow around the boy's feet rose up into a wall blocking off the way they had just come. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Zabuza before setting Naruto down on the ground. Naruto knew the posture of his mother was telling him to stay put, so he did just that. Tsunade marched through the remaining snow towards Zabuza and pulled the man by his Jounin vest until they were out of earshot.

"I knew there was something up when the Mizukage offered to let Naruto, Shizune, and I into the country so easily. But I had no idea that not one but two of the Seven Swordsmen had gone rouge. I know the reason why Hoshigaki left, but what's your story?" Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest and watched as Zabuza leaned against a near by tree. She could tell that he was debating what to tell her. "You've just caused me to put my own son in danger. I've known you a long time Zabuza, hell I was the one who helped your mother through birth. I deserve to at least know why."

"The boy has a Kekkei Genkai that the Mizukage has tried to wipe out. You know of the Great War, someone had killed the Mizukage's family who just so happened to have the same Kekkei Genkai as that boy. I was ordered to kill him on sight, but when I found him, I couldn't." Tsunade shook her head before holding her hand over her forehead. She remembered a time when she had tucked the man in front of her into bed, telling him to never give up on his own goals. She shook her head one more time before heading back towards the clearing.

"Fine, but you'll both be traveling with us from now on. It might just do Naruto some good if he's exposed to some other Jutsu types." Zabuza smirked under his mask before following after his segregate mother.

* * *

Naruto stared over to the eight year old, biting into his bottom lip. It wasn't that he was shy; he was acting rather outgoing and loud. But something about the boy in front of him made him shy. Naruto suspected that it was because of the display of power.

"It is not nice to stare Naruto-kun." Naruto jumped before blinking bright eyes at the boy, he hadn't remembered telling the boy his name. He couldn't even remember if his mother had called him by name. So how did the boy know him?

"Well that's not fair, you know who I am but I have no idea who you are." Naruto smiled brightly at the brown hair before rubbing at the back of his head. He hadn't actually meant to sound so stupid. Even if he was five, he could still talk better than that. "I'm sorry, that was rude." His mother wouldn't be happy with him if he was rude to someone he just met.

"It is quite alright Naruto-kun, I am simply Haku." The boy gave him a kind smile and Naruto felt himself returning it instantly. Even if his mother had told him to stay put, maybe he could get Haku to teach him how to do that cool snow wall thing.

"Haku-chan, can you teach me to do that?" Naruto pointed happily at the giant wall and was saddened when Haku shook his head. Naruto was about to protest when he felt his mother's arms lift him back up into her arms and nuzzle his cheek. Naruto laughed loudly before placing a kiss on his mom's nose.

"I'm afraid you can't learn Haku's jutsu Naruto-kun. They are special jutsus that only Haku himself can do." Zabuza said as he stepped around Tsunade to look down at Naruto, Naruto blinking up at him in confusion.

"It's like your Oniisan's eye." Naruto blinked at his mom for a moment before remembering Kakashi's Sharingan eye. It was true that Naruto couldn't do it, but he wasn't aware that it was considered a jutsu. Naruto smiled brightly and looked over to Haku who was smiling back at him.

"That means that Haku-chan is extra special right?" Tsunade nodded her head and turned sharply when Shizune entered the clearing. The mousy girl was panting heavily but had all of their bags. Zabuza quickly helped her, making Shizune blush and rub the back of her neck. Naruto looked up to his mom and frowned. "Okasan, is Zabuza my Oniisan too?"

Zabuza gave a start at that before looking to Tsunade who had started to laugh. Naruto frowned deeply not liking being laughed at. Tsunade noticed this and kissed his forehead before nuzzling him once more, sometimes the blonde boy was just too much.

"Actually Naruto, Zabuza is more like your Ojisan." Naruto brightened up at that and looked over to Zabuza who seemed to be swearing under his mask. Naruto giggled and clung to his mom. Haku seemed to find all of this amusing as well for he started to giggle with Naruto. Zabuza snorted loudly before hefting up the bags and walking forward.

"Come on, I want to get out of Mizu before nightfall." Tsunade nodded and nuzzled Naruto once more before she walked off after Zabuza. Naruto hoisted himself up over his mom's shoulder and stared down at Haku. The eight year old looked up at Naruto and smiled brightly at him, Naruto smiled back before yawning and resting his head on Tsunade's shoulder.

Tsunade felt the boy pass out in her arms and smiled. The poor boy had one hell of a day, and it was only noon. She was going to let the boy sleep for a while, but knew that if he slept to long he'd never sleep that night, and that would be hell.

Haku stared at the back of his new family. Zabuza was treating him like a son, making Tsunade his aunt, and Shizune and Naruto his new cousin. Haku felt his heart heat up and smiled to himself. Earlier this year he had watched his father kill his mother, and then killed his father. Now he had a whole new family, and one he was truly glad to have.


	6. The Reason

**Title: **Naruto - A Different Story  
**Rating: **M  
**Pairing: **Naruto/?  
**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all of its characters belongs to the great and powerful, Masashi Kishimoto.  
**Summery: **At 3 he ran away from Konoha and ran into her. Now he's 12 and they're being forced to return to the village they hate.  
**Author's Note: **Just one note, once Naruto becomes 12 in this story I will be dedicating about one chapter for every arc I can think of. This way the story wont be like a hundred chapters long.

**Author's Note:** Sorry this chapter is so late, I did try to write it like 5 times, but I kept having to delete it all and start again. But I'm actually liking this chapter. Itachi is a bit OOC, but he will be for the rest of the fic.

**WARNING**

From here on out this is a complete AU fic, this a WHAT IF... type of fic, if you hate those fics, I don't know why you are still reading... but I hope you enjoy this fic.

* * *

**Chapter Six: The Reason**  
_Two Years Later_

News was spreading fast through each of the great ninja nations. The Uchiha's were dead. Killed in the dead of night, massacred by one of their very own. All that was left of the great clan was a small frightened and broken seven-year-old boy.

The small boy stared blankly at the wall in front of him. Two or three people had come into the hospital room, but he didn't remember their names. It was always the same anyways, the same questions, the same pity. He was starting to hate pity. He was starting to hate this village! Why were they bothering with him? His brother, no, his parent's murderer was still out there! They should be chasing him, not asking him stupid questions!

A hand moved some of his midnight black hair out of his face and he snapped his eyes towards the person. He was someone new, a man who seemed no older than his own brother. This one was weird however; you could only see his one eye. And this guy was a Jounin? How did he see? The black haired boy shook his head and lowered his dark eyes to his lap. More pointless questions were coming he just knew it.

Kakashi Hatake had been sent to be the boy's guardian. He was the only one in the village who knew the power of the Sharingan, so that made him perfect for role model for the young survivor. But he was told to stay away from the child until his mind had been righted, whatever the hell that had meant. Of course, Kakashi had to know what happened. The rumors, they were what brought him there. Rumors that Itachi, his student in ANBU, had killed his own family as an initiation. An initiation into an organization that were after the Jinchuriki.

Kakashi stared down at the boy in front of him; this was his only source of information. He shook his head before sighing rather loudly. He hated kids sometimes; most of them in the village were selfish. It made him wish that his younger brother was there.

"I'm not going to ask you how you're feeling. I don't really care. I want to know what you saw. I need to know everything he said to you." Kakashi narrowed his eye towards the boy and noted happily that the boy seemed shocked by this. The small boy shifted only slightly before he schooled his features into the Uchiha scowl. Kakashi however was immune to it. Obito had used it to many times.

"Why should I tell you anything?" The boy smirked, that would get the man away from him. He didn't care if this guy was a Jounin. He hadn't told the Hokage anything, he wouldn't tell this guy anything.

"Listen here you little brat. I don't care if you want to play the hero of your clan, or if you just want fucking attention." Kakashi was fuming this little snot nosed brat dared to talk back to him. Naruto didn't ever do that, and he hated authority figures most of the time. Kakashi grabbed the boy's shirt and pulled him up at the same time as he uncovered his own Sharingan. The red eye started to spin and Kakashi smirked under his mask as the boy gasped loudly. "Tell me what I want to know and get out of here with your mind intact!"

The boy whimpered in Kakashi's grasp before he nodded his head. His eyes were trained onto the Sharingan. Could it be that he had family left? Did Itachi miss someone? The small boy took a deep breath before pulling away from the man, his eyes never leaving the red spinning wheel.

"I came home late yesterday. I wanted to practice my kunai throwing a little bit more before our test on Friday." The boy's voice was steady, but Kakashi betted that before long it would start to shake. "I noticed the moment that I entered the compound that something wasn't right. My Obaa-Chan normally greeted me at the gateway. She'd walk me home and visit with mom for a while. But she wasn't there." The boy's eyes had started to fill with tears; this was going to suck if the boy started to cry.

"I raced home, noticing that everyone seemed to be gone. It was never quiet in the compound. But it was so silent, the birds were even singing." Kakashi let go of the boy and watched him pull his knees up to his chest. "I thought I saw someone standing on one of the electricity poles, but when I looked back a second later they were gone." The boy buried his head in his knees and whimpered. He had seen his brother in that moment; he just knew it had been him. "When I got home, it was dark. As if no one had been home for hours." That statement caught Kakashi's attention. He filed it away for later. "I went in and said "I'm home" just like always, I even removed my shoes." The boy lifted his head to look at Kakashi, tears were falling down his face and Kakashi cringed inside. Crying kids were the worse.

"I heard a noise from my father's study and moved towards it. Father didn't like anyone in his study when he wasn't home." The boy sniffed softly before wiping at his eyes. A hate was starting to form in the dark depths and Kakashi knew that the boy was going to have it hard. "When I opened the door, my brother was standing there. He had his stupid ANBU uniform on and was leaning over father and mother's bloody bodies." The boy shook and narrowed his eyes at his own shaking hands. "I just stood there, screaming at him. Asking why he had done it. Then," the boy couldn't continue as his body had slumped forward and tears were rolling off his eyes.

"He showed you him killing everyone, made you look into his eyes, made you relive their deaths." Kakashi tried to make his voice soft, but the small boy in front of him was making him very irritated. "What happened after you fled?"

"I didn't get too far. He caught me just outside the house." The boy stared up at Kakashi with wide eyes, the hate and fear could be seen just as clearly as the tears now. "He told me that if I wanted to beat him, that I had to hate him. I had to kill my closest friend." The boy was confused for only a moment before shaking his head. "He killed our family just because he thought it might be fun!" The small boy screamed out just before he found himself drifting off into unconsciousness.

Kakashi had heard enough. He used a simple sleep jutsu on the small boy and then left the room. The boy wouldn't remember ever talking to Kakashi, if he even remembered Kakashi at all. But that suited the young Jounin just fine.

Kakashi darted out of the hospital and ran off towards the northern exit of the village. No one had been posted there today because of the panic of the Uchiha clan's death. When he reached the exit he smiled softly. It was faint, but a chakra signature had come through the gates just hours before.

* * *

Itachi was confused, why did his own village attack him when he had arrived home? He had been gone for months, working out the details of an alliance with Mizu no Kuni. He hadn't been able to convince the Mizukage to align with Konoha, but he had at least gotten out with his life. But when he had reentered the village, he had been attacked! 

He had tried to head home, but had been shocked at finding more ANBU than he had even thought were employed in Konoha standing guard. His brother, his baby brother had been missing too! His brother needed him he was all he had. His father didn't care for him, his mother was to caught up in her sorrow over loosing her only connection to her first love, and his best friend went missing months ago!

Itachi stopped and closed his eyes. He was tired, he was hungry, and he was sick of running away. He turned to face the way he came only to come eye to eye with Kakashi Hatake. A very pissed off Kakashi Hatake. Itachi took a step back, away from the copy-nin of Konoha. He knew Kakashi could use his Sharingan just as well as any Uchiha, perhaps even better.

"Tell me you didn't do it Itachi. Tell me and I'll believe it." Kakashi's words confused the hell out of Itachi. What didn't he do? Itachi shook his head before falling to the ground. He didn't want to fight.

"I haven't done anything Hatake-san. I've been in Mizu for the past six months." Itachi closed his eyes and missed the surprise on Kakashi's face. He wanted to rest, he wanted to know why he was being chased, he wanted to know where his brother was!

"Six months? That's not possible." Kakashi was shocked! He had trained with Itachi only two months ago. He hadn't even noticed anything odd about him. He was just his normal self. So why was Itachi now saying that he had been away for six months? It didn't make any sense.

"Yes six months. Surely you knew that. You were my ANBU captain; you were the one who told the Hokage I would be perfect for the mission." Itachi looked up at Kakashi just as realization dawned on the older man. Itachi stood up, suddenly very pissed off. Something had happened, something bad. "What's going on Hatake? Why was I just chased from my home? Why is the Uchiha compound being watched over by ANBU? Where the hell is Sasuke?"

Kakashi shook his head and ran a hand through his silver hair. He wished that Tsunade was there. She would know how to handle this situation better than he did. He even wished Naruto was there. The seven year old was good at calming people down, even if he was the reason for their irritation.

"Last night, at around nine pm. Your compound was attack by a mad man, who I now believe assumed your form using a simple Henge. He murdered everyone within its walls before fleeing the scene." Kakashi looked Itachi straight in the eyes; the eldest Uchiha didn't seem to like this story one bit. "Your brother was the only survivor; the murderer thought it would be funny to place him in a Genjutsu and make him relive the murders of your mother and father over and over again." Kakashi found himself thrown against a tree as two blaring Sharingan eyes glared at him. "He's at the village hospital now, he's perfectly healthy psychically but mentally, he's broken."

"Who did it? Who posed as me and hurt him? Tell me!" Itachi was pissed; someone had DARED harm his little brother. Sure he didn't treat Sasuke all that well, but he treated him far better than he treated any one else. He loved his squirt of a brother; he was his most precious person.

"I don't know who did it Itachi. But you can't go back there. It's too dangerous." Kakashi narrowed his eyes and pushed Itachi away. Itachi seemed to fall backwards too easily and Kakashi realized that Itachi had been broken by that news. He couldn't go back to help his brother, who needed him the most.

Itachi wanted to cry, but he had never cried in his life. He wouldn't start now, but boy did he want to. He gazed up at Kakashi, feeling like a kicked puppy dog. What was he going to do? He couldn't go home, he couldn't help Sasuke, he had no one else, and he had nowhere else!

"Tsunade-san is near by. I'll write her a letter and send you off to find her with Pakkun." Kakashi couldn't believe what he was doing. If the village ever found out, he'd be toast. But he couldn't let the boy be left alone out here. He had just lost everything. Kakashi knew how that felt, he knew all to well.

The letter had been quickly scribbled onto a scroll that Pakkun had clamped in his mouth before Itachi was off on his way. Kakashi had told him that the female Sannin was heading towards Suna, so it wouldn't be to long before he ran into her party. He had been warned that there were two children, and an ex-Mizu Nin with the Sannin. He just hoped that he wasn't attacked before he had the chance to give the letter to Tsunade.

* * *

Tsunade grumbled loudly as her seven year old son and her ten-year-old son played in the sand. They had just entered the dessert that would take them to Suna. Tsunade hated sand, Shizune hated sand, and Zabuza hated sand, yet the two small children loved the stuff. 

Haku giggled happily as he watched Naruto do cartwheels in the sand. The blonde was so full of happy energy that it always made all of them smile. Haku knew that the blonde was still haunted by his past, a past that he had only ever told Haku once. They had vowed on their own blood that they would never feel bad about their pasts however. So Haku continued to laugh and giggle at the blonde.

Naruto was having the time of his life. He had always loved coming to Suna. In the past two years they had traveled through the dessert twice, but they had only been able to get into Suna once. The village had been fun, so much different from everywhere else. Plus Suna had a boy Naruto had grown fond of. Gaara, the small red headed boy who no one had wanted to play with. Naruto had been warned by the people of the village that the red head was dangerous, and sure the red head's sand was just that, but Naruto wasn't scared of him. He felt safe near him, just as he felt safe near his mom. Speaking of his mom, Naruto turned sharply and blinked bright blues eyes towards his mother, who was being approached by a dog and another guy.

Tsunade didn't like the looks of Itachi Uchiha marching towards her with a broken look on his face. Shizune had run off to stop Naruto and Haku from coming close to the two, but Zabuza had readied for an attack. Itachi sighed heavily before Pakkun dropped the scroll at the woman's feet.

"It's from the Hatake brat. He wants you to read it before you slice the Uchiha into pieces." Pakkun disappeared once Tsunade nodded her head. She picked up the scroll and started to read while Zabuza looked over her shoulder.

_Tsunade,  
Itachi has been framed for the murder of his entire clan (minus his snot nosed seven year old brother). I don't know what to do with him, as there is no evidence to prove he is innocent, and no one is really looking for any. His brother has been placed in my care so I won't be able to come to Suna for Naruto's birthday. Wish him a happy one for me. I'll try to contact you as soon as I can.  
Kakashi  
PS. Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE kids?_

Tsunade looked over to Itachi and then handed off the letter to Shizune who quietly read it and then disposed of it. Naruto and Haku, Tsunade knew, were looking over clearly interested at the new person. But Tsunade was still weary. Kakashi was sure that Itachi was innocent, but that didn't mean he was harmless.

"Let's get a few things clear Uchiha. I do not tolerate being looked down on, nor do I like being who talk back to me. You will protect my sons with your life, or lose yours. Zabuza is to be unharmed as well." Tsunade turned her back on the Uchiha and marched over to pick up her son. Naruto failed his arms about but moved so he could watch the new guy.

Haku followed after Tsunade and Naruto giggling as Naruto continued to fight against his mother's grip. It was useless and every one of them knew it, but Naruto still tried. He said it was the only way he could get physically stronger, though Zabuza had recommended actually work. That suggestion had caused Naruto to turn white and to not talk for two days.

Itachi blinked several times towards the blonde woman and her young son. He remembered seeing the boy a few times when he was still starting out in the ANBU, the boy had been only two when he had fled the village. But no one had been ordered to chase after him. He had wondered why, until that moment. The boy was Tsunade-sama's son. No one would dare harm a child of a Sennin. Unless of course, they were crazy, and Itachi was definitely not that crazy.

"She comes off as hard, but she's really very soft hearted." Shizune smiled up at Itachi. She had heard so many good things about the boy from Kakashi, he was a genius and very strong. Maybe she could get the Uchiha to teach her some attack jutsus, she couldn't rely on her medical training forever.

Itachi looked down at the mousy looking woman before nodding his head and moving with her to follow Tsunade and the children. He noticed that they had fallen into a sort of formation and wondered if it was planned or if it just happened naturally. Zabuza snorted behind him causing the Uchiha to turn to look over his shoulder. The ex-Mizu Nin was staring off ahead looking at the two children, ignoring the Uchiha.

"Her threats were real Uchiha. If you, at any time, are put into a position where you must protect them, you best do it. The punishment for ignoring them, if worse than death, I assure you." Zabuza disappeared from behind the Uchiha and reappeared up in front walking along side the older of the two children. Itachi simply followed.

* * *

Naruto was pissed, sure he couldn't say that he was pissed, but he was. He wanted to go and talk to their new group member but his mother wouldn't let him go, and his brother wouldn't help him! He failed his arms and tried to push away from his mother's chest one more time before flopping back onto her shoulder. It was useless; he wasn't any stronger than the last time she had picked him up. 

"What's his name?" Naruto asked his mother, propping his elbows up on her shoulder and resting his head in his hands as he stared back at the new guy. His mother stiffened a bit before shifting him just slightly to make it more comfortable on her.

"Itachi Uchiha, and I want you to stay away from him. The Uchiha clan is very dangerous." Naruto rolled his eyes he had heard that before. Kakashi-Oniisan was dangerous, Zabuza-Ojisan was dangerous, and Gaara-kun was dangerous, what made this Itachi guy any different?

"He doesn't look so tough, I bet he's not even a match for Kakashi-Oniisan!" Naruto smiled brightly and shifted around missing the look of shock on Itachi's face. Naruto nuzzled into his mom's neck and looked out at the sand. It would be at least another day before they got into the village, maybe his mom would let him play in the sand a bit more later.

Itachi stared unblinkingly at the back of the blonde boy; he had just been called weak looking by a boy no older than his own little brother! He looked down at his dirtied ANBU uniform, sure he looked beat up, and he hadn't slept in a few days, or eaten, or showered. But that didn't mean he was weak, right? Itachi hung his head, letting his long hair fall into his eyes. If he looked weak to a little boy, what did his enemies think of him?

Itachi was completely sure that this was the worst day of his life.


End file.
